INTERVENTION BY THE HOLY SEEAT THE 58th SESSION OF THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLYOF THE UNITED NATIONS ON "CULTURE OF PEACE"

INTERVENTION BY H.E. MSGR. CELESTINO
MIGLIORE

Monday, 10 November 2003

Mr. President,

My Delegation welcomes this opportunity to participate once
again in the discussion on "Culture of Peace".

The Holy See has always welcomed and embraced diverse and varied
cultures for centuries. Against this background, in speaking of peace, my
delegation recognizes first of all that peace is not essentially about
structures, but about people.

Peace is above all about those who are realistic enough to
recognize that in spite of the downsides of human nature and society, peace is
possible. No effort should be spared in achieving it. For this, peace must be
willed, earned and shared as a common good of humanity.

If we look at the hotbeds of wars in our time, we cannot but ask
ourselves how mass media, politicians and public authorities depict the
realities surrounding those conflicts. Does the media to which those affected
populations are exposed propose peace; do public statements and comments speak
of peace; do school books teach the ways of peace; do conversation that young
people have within their families and among their peers prepare them for peace?

Mr. President, the reasons that are given to justify conflicts
must be duly addressed, before, during and after they occur. The necessity to
impose an armed defense to dissuade the other party from becoming an enemy
should be prudently and carefully weighed against an equal necessity to reach
out to the other party, beyond any presumed or alleged enmity, leaving always
the door open for all possible peaceful solutions. Consequently, when those who
bear the responsibility and the obligation to defend peace and order are called
upon to decide whether or not to take up legitimate defense, their decision must
be subject to the rigorous conditions given within the moral order because such
actions can be justified only when all peaceful means of resolving the crisis
have been proven to be impractical, ineffective or impossible.

Mr. President, unlike the culture of war, the culture of peace
entails an ethical approach to life. It shows the right and secure path that
leads to the respect for life. War "destroys the life of innocent people,
teaches how to kill, throws into upheaval even the lives of those who do the
killing and leaves behind a trail of resentment and hatred, thus making it all
the more difficult to find a just solution to the very problems which provoked
the war" (Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus,
#52).

This year the United Nations celebrates the fifty-fifth
anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. This event calls everyone to the
fundamental recognition of the full dignity of every human being. From such
recognition springs the right to peace. But, when peace loses its value in
society and its importance in public policy, human rights and international
obligations become jeopardized and compromised.

Peace is an enterprise of justice. At the root of war, and in
particular of terrorism, a type of armed aggression which we are sadly
experiencing in our present age, we find serious grievances that are yet to be
addressed by the international community: injustices suffered, legitimate
aspirations frustrated, abject poverty, discrimination, intolerance, and
exploitation of multitudes of desperate people who have no real hope of
improving their lives. Such injustices incite violence, and every injustice can
lead to war.

Peace, which could be defined as "the tranquillity of order", is
a fundamental duty of everyone. However, peace is built up on mutual trust, and
trust can be achieved only with justice and fairness. Peace demands the
correction of violations, the redress of abuses, the rehabilitation of victims
and the reconciliation of the aggrieved parties. The strategy of building trust
means overcoming all obstacles that impede works of justice with a view towards
peace. Only in such a climate of peace can a culture of peace take root and
flourish.

Mr. President, if development is the new name for peace, then
war and the proliferation of weapons must be considered the major enemies of
development of peoples. By putting an end to the arms race a true disarmament
process can begin, with agreements based on authentic and workable safeguards.
The reallocation of economic and other resources from arms race to humanitarian
needs such as basic health care, education for all and strengthening of the
family, will indeed promote and strengthen a culture of peace.

Mr. President, these are some thoughts my delegation wishes to
share in the context of the fortieth anniversary of "Pacem in Terris - Peace on
Earth", the epical Encyclical Letter of Pope John XXIII. Allow me therefore to
close with the following words of that same Encyclical: "The world will never be
the dwelling place of peace, till peace has found a home in the heart of each
and every person".